equine
law
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Equine Law
BUYING A HORSE? PROTECT YOURSELF
Buying a horse is to many owners and riders a substantial investment. It is therefore important that not only
do you thoroughly research the horse that you are going to buy, before buying it, but also that you protect
yourself legally. If, having bedded your new horse into his new home, he turns out to be a different animal to
the way he was described, the amount of research that you did before buying the horse, and whether you have
a sale contract in place, will affect whether or not you have a legal right of recourse.
There are three main avenues to pursue when purchasing a horse in the UK:-
Buying from a horse dealer
Buying from a private seller
There are many horse dealers and organisations
in the UK that deal in buying and selling horses,
and as the sport continues to grow, the number
of dealers specialising in the sale of horses are
increasing. Because these dealers are selling horses
in the course of business, they are subject to The
Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) which implies
statutory terms to protect the buyer. These terms
are:-
Many potential stars and established horses are sold
via private sellers. The difference between buying
from a dealer to buying from a private seller is that
when buying a horse from a private seller, the buyer
is not protected by the terms implied by section
14 of the Sale of Goods Act. This is because the
private seller is not selling in the course of business.
• the horse must be fit for the purpose for which it
was sold;
• the horse must be of satisfactory quality;
• the horse must be as described by the seller during
the sales process.
In the event of dispute after purchase, these
statutory terms can be relied upon by the buyer.
If the buyer can prove that the horse was not sold
in accordance with the statutory terms, he has the
right to reject the horse.
It is, however, impossible for a purchaser to ask
every question about a horse and its past during
the buying process, and it is even more difficult in
the event of a dispute to prove what was and was
not asked by the buyer and said in response, by the
seller.
It is therefore a good idea to have a checklist of
questions to ask the seller. The seller should sign
the checklist to confirm that your notes do match
what he has said about the horse. If the seller
refuses to sign the checklist, you have to ask
yourself “well why not?” The buyer should keep the
checklist along with a written note of the an swers
given by the seller.
8 Issue 05
In a sale between a buyer and a private seller the
common law rule of caveat emptor (or ‘buyer
beware’) applies and there will be no comeback
over undiscovered vices unless the purchaser has an
express agreement with the seller. This agreement
is therefore the difference between having a right
of recourse if the horse does have a vice of which
you were not advised by the seller, and having no
right of recourse, because you had no agreement
and should have been ‘buyer beware’.
The agreement (in the form of a written contract)
should provide exactly when and how the buyer will
be allowed to return the horse for breach. Ideally
the contract should specify a time limit within
which a complaint must be made or the animal
returned, and no action can be brought if this time
has passed.
A checklist once again is a good idea, and should be
signed by the seller.
Buying from an auction
Auction houses operate high performance sales and
elite auctions specifically for the sale of horses.
Such sales usually specify their own terms and
conditions of sale. If a horse is sold warranted,
it is usual that the buyer has 7 days within which